SHANNA VAN MAURIK

2010

9.11.13

Duuuuudes my friend Patty Farias wrote a really sweet article about my work.. it's a really awesome read.THX PATTY!! The article and link to her blog are below.

http://p-farias-writings.tumblr.com

The Mirror On The Wall: Understanding The Works of Shanna Van Maurik

Women have been portrayed for centuries in art as an ideal. Delicately formed within the quiet spectacle of fantasy and romance; forever contained by the strict palette of man’s artistic vision. Shanna Van Maurik’s paintings offer up a vision of women that resembles fruit that has long past its expiry date; crawling with curious disfigurations, but somehow more desirable than ever. In Van Maurik’s world, nothing is sacred. Instead, purity is made a mockery of by the colours that Van Maurik feverishly injects into her paintings, causing the women pictured in them to catch fire in the most cathartic of ways. This is not paint by numbers. Van Maurik treats each composition as if it were her last opportunity to touch paint. It is that desperation that liberates her from the obligations of perfection. The same obligations that are tied to womanhood, the same obligations that are tied to what is expected of “fine art”. All dressed up and nowhere to go? The characters that Van Maurik creates within her delicious dystopia have already gone. They have returned with a lethargy that only exhausted sexuality can provide. Women in Van Maurik’s world do not exist at the pinnacle of desire; they have transcended into abjection, where vanity sees itself reflected in a broken glass. They have lived and lost and are not ashamed to tell their twisted tale. In fact, if you stare into the bright light long enough, you might even begin to see yourself reflected in the eyes of an imperfect situation.

7.6.12

I'm in an upcoming group show at Canadian Fine Arts, 577 Mount Pleasant Rd. I'm super excited to be showing with some awesome painters and friends of mine: Stella Cade, Erin Loree, Keita Morimoto, Christie Lau, and Sarah Ammons. The show runs from June 14th to the 24th and the opening is on the 14th from 6-9pm. Come out if you can!